Gladstone bag



M 8,1930. EN I 1,769,976

GLADSTONE BAG -Fi1ed Dec. 29. 1926 2 Shuts-Sheet 1 H. WARREN GLADSTONE BAG July 8, 1930.

2 shuts-sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1926 Patented July 8, 1930 PATENT OFFICE HARRY WARREN, or CHICAGO, rumors GLADSTONE .BAGV

Application filed December 29, 1926. Serial No. 157,651.

. My invention relates to. containers adapted for having clothing or the like packed therein, and more particularly to an improvement inGladstone bags.

, Anobjeot of my invention is toprovide a novel article ofthe above indicated character, having loose doors adapted to be pressed down on the clothing, which may be packed in the case, and locked into. position for securely holdingthe clothing; in place, thus preventing cruiiip-lingrand mussingioftlielsame.

.Another object of my invention is to providea novel device of. the above indicated character, having-means for reenforcing the' gladstone to make it rigid. and more resistant to weights placed thereon and: so reeen'forc'ed as to,v prevent bulging outward of the top whenthe case is lifted,by the handle, when it is heavily loaded.

, Anotherfobject of my inventionis to providea-.nove1'. deviceof the above indicated character, having detached doors or clothing retainers adap'ted'ftofbe lo'ckedinto one of a pluralityofpositions.toaccommodate and secl lrely hold .the clothing. with equal facility, Homatterhowsmall an amount there may be packed inthe case. I

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

N -.Heretofore, nosatisfactory means have been proposed for holding. clothing securely in afcarryin grcase whenit is only partly full, and in orderto prevent crumpling and mussingtof theclothing heretofore it was necessary to pack the case entirely full. It hasprevlously; been the custom to use hinged doors or straps, but the hinged doors were not satisfactory unless the case was packed full,

and the straps were never satisfactory because they would alwayscrumplethe clothingat the edges where the straps were same.

buckled over the During the course of numerous experiments Ihave found this diificultycould be overcome. byfth'e use ofdetachable doors adjustable for any desired amount of clothing that might be packed in the, case and having means to lock the door into'an'yo f ajplurality of positions. Much difficulty has previouslybeen experi- "aenced inhaving carrying cases crushed in from thetop and having them bulge upward at the top when being carried. My invention overcomes these difiiculties as will be hereinafter explained in detail.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which: I

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gladstone incorporating my invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan View of the detachable door.

Figure 3 is atop plan View of the door and case partly broken away, showing more in dptail the means for securing the door in p ace.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view taken on approximately the line Hill Figure 3 and,

Figure5 isa cross sectional View taken on approximately the line 55 in Figure 4, and showing the means for adjusting the door to a plurality of positions in order to accommodate the amount of clothing it may be desired to pack in the case.

In the drawings I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention and in Figure 1' the numeral 6, designates a gladstone or carrying case with a handle 7 for carrying the same. The corners are re-enforced by suitably formed pieces of leather 8 and the case is re-enforced around the adjoining edges of the two parts with metal straps 9, in the usual manner and provided with fastening device 10, adapted'to extend through lugs 11 to hold the case closed for the purpose of carrying it from place to place.

The usual lock 12 is provided for locking the case when so desired.

A detachable door 13, is provided as best shown in Figures 2 and 3. It is made of any suitable stiff material such as wood, metal or leather covered cardboard, and is provided with leather handles 14:, by which it may be lifted out of the case. The door is notched on the sides as shown at 15, for the purpose of allowing it to loosely fit inthe case as shown in Figure l, and to fit around the inwardly extending portion of the fastening devices 16, and provided with an edging 17 to prevent tearing of the clothes.

A cross bar 18 is rotatably attached to the door near the center thereof by a suitable rivet or bolt 19; said rivet passing through the cross bar, a washer 20 for holding the leather handles or tabs in place, through the leather handles and through the door. The cross bar 18, is round in the preferred form of my invention since it may be more easily taken hold of, to turn it in or out of look ing engagement with the fastening. devices 16 as shown in Figure 3. The cross bar is formed with annular recesses 21 near the ends in order that it may fit into the notches 22 of the fastening devices 16, provided for that purpose; said notches being round at the end 23 for retaining the reduced portion of the cross bar therein by the pressure of the clothes 26 against the underside of the door as shown in Figures 4: and 5. The notches 22 terminate at the other end in a rectangular shaped'opening for the purpose of permnitting the full sized disc-like end portions 7 24 of the cross bar to pass in and out there of. The end portion 24- is adapted to pull against the underside of the notched bar 16,

. when the case is lifted by the handle 7, and

prevents budging of the case at the top. The ends of the main part of the cross bar are adapted to press against the fastening device 1 6 from the inside of the case outwardly when the case is standing up and an excessive weight is placed thereon, thus, preventing the case from being crushed or bulged inwardly. The locking device or fastening devices 16 is provided with flanges 27 at the sides thereof which extendlengthwise the full depth of the case and are riveted to the fiat metal straps 28, by suitable rivets 29, which, also, secure thenotched bar and the other metal strip to the top and bottom of the case. The metal strap 28 is adapted to protect the case from the end of the cross bar, should an excessive'pressure be placed thereon and the flanges 27, together with the strap 28, distribute the stresses from the cross bar the whole depth of the case, thereby preventing the breakage of holes through the case or the bulging of the case. 7

From Figure 5 it is obvious that the door may be readily adjusted as required so that even a minimum amount of material packed in the case will be securely held in place. I have shown the detachable door applied to only one side of the case but it is obvious that it may be applied to both sides. A plurality of cross bars could be used or cross bars of difl'erent shapes, or a plurality of handles for lifting the doors, all of which are within the contemplation of my invention.

While I have shown my invention in its preferred form, it will be understood that many modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a Gladstone bag the combination of a detachable door, adapted to be pressed down on the clothing packed therein and means for locking said detachable door in any of a plurality of positions for securely holding the clothing in place when the bag is only partially filled, said means consisting of an elongated bar centrally pivoted to said detachable door, said bar having an annular notch at each end thereof adapted to enter into corresponding openings in plates secured to the sides of said bag, and additional means to prevent the ends of said elongated bar from perforating the sides of the bag.

2. 'In a Gladstone bag the combination of a detachable door, adapted to be pressed down upon the clothing packed therein and rotary means for detachably locking said door in place, said rotary means consisting of an elongated bar having an annular notch in each end thereof and disk like ends, said disk like ends being received by openings having restricted portions adapted to receive the annular notch.

3. In a carrying case, the combination of a detachable door and means for securing said door in place; said means consisting of a cross bar having disk like end portions adapted to engage notches in metallic locking straps secured to the bag at the top and bottom thereof, and'a dapted to re-enforce said bag and by co-operation with the disc-like end portions of the cross bar, adapted to rigidly hold the top and bottom of the bag from bulging or breaking when being carried heavily loaded. 7.

145-. In a Gladstone bag the combination of detachable means for I holding theclothing packed therein, in place; co-operating means adapted to lock said detachable means and rigidly re-enforce the bag against crushing stresses caused by heavy weights placed upon it, and additional fiat metal straps adapted to prevent the locking means from being forced through the sides of the bag.

5. In a Gladstone bag, detachable means adapted to be pressed down on the clothing packed therein, and means secured to the bag for locking the detachable means for securely holding the clothing in place and to prevent mussing and crumpling of the same, said detachable means consisting of an elongated bar turnably mounted in a pair of brackets, said brackets having notches which open into 6. A Gladstone bag having detachable means for holding'the clothing packed in said bag in place, cooperating means secured to the interior of the Gladstone bag and adapted to lock the detachable means securely in position While reinforcing the ba against bulging and breaking at the top and bottom when being carried While heavily loaded, said detachable means consisting of an elongated bar turnably mounted in the said cooperating means, said elongated bar having disc-like ends and annular recesses formed adjacent the said disc-like ends.

7. A carrying case having an inner detachably secured door, an elongated bar turnably secured to said door, said bar having disclike ends and annular recesses formed adjacent the disc-like ends, a bracket secured to each of the side Walls of the said case, said bracket having a bent portion adapted to receive the disc-like ends of the bar, openings in said bent portion to receive the annular recesses formed on the bar, said openings having a widened portion wherein the said annular recesses are received, said brackets having flanges for securing the said brackets to the said case.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY WARREN. 

